Kickapoo scores early and often in rout of Glendale

Sep. 26, 2013

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Kickapoo's Malachi Stout (40) runs up the field during Thursday's football game against the Glendale Falcons at Kickapoo High School. The win moved Kickapoo further ahead of the pack in the Ozark Conference. / David Welker/For the News-Leader

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As Kickapoo High School football coach Joel Wells walked to Pottenger Stadium on Thursday night with his team — an hour and a day earlier than usual and with his team expected to blowout rival Glendale on homecoming before a soccer match — he admitted he was having second thoughts.

“I was scared to death of it, to be honest,” Wells said. “When we were walking up here, the sun was up, and I didn’t know if this was a good idea or not.”

It did not take long for the coach’s mind to be at ease.

His football Chiefs buried Glendale early, scoring 47 points unanswered to earn a 47-17 victory against the Falcons, moving the first-place Chiefs further away from the pack in the Ozark Conference.

The soccer team also earned a win, topping Glendale 2-0.

The football Chiefs scored on their first seven possessions, as senior quarterback Anthony Cooper rushed for one and threw for two more. Tony Grant scored two rushing touchdowns, and John Fuchs added one and also caught another.

The biggest strike of the game came on a 73-yard over-the-top pass play from Cooper to his favorite new deep target from Louisiana.

Jayy Green — who said he prefers the double-Y spelling of his name to Jamariqune or just plain old Jay — hauled in the deep pass.

“It was a good atmosphere,” Green said of playing in the “South Side Showdown” for the first time. “I was a little shaky at first, but after a couple plays I just put my head down and played.”

Kickapoo (5-0) will have another Thursday homecoming game next week at Hillcrest, who could still be one back of the Chiefs if it wins tonight’s game at Lebanon.

Coach Tyler Overstreet knew the Falcons (0-5) were in for an uphill climb and tried some trickery early, attempting an onside kick on the opening kickoff.

The ball was loose after touching a Kickapoo player, but the ball trickled past the charging Glendale players and eventually ended up in the home team’s possession.

“We tried to create something, and it’s one of those high-risk, high-reward things,” Overstreet said.

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“We set them up into some tough situations in that first drive, but couldn’t make the stop.”

After converting a third down and then a fourth down for Kickapoo, Cooper ran in from 15 yards to set the early tone.

“Everybody was hyped for the game because it was Glendale, but at the same time, I didn’t want everybody to go in there thinking we would just kill them,” Cooper said. “I was very pleased with how everybody played.”

After Grant scored twice, Fuchs added his score before Green’s long haul from Cooper made it 33-0 early in the second quarter.

The Falcons ended turboclock for the end of the game by closing the margin to less than 35 points. Derek Roberts banged home a 34-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.

In the second half, Josh Buchanan and Noble Justus had touchdowns.

Glendale will play a Thursday night homecoming game next week, hosting Parkview.

Overstreet said Glendale’s first five opponents were 15-5 through four weeks, and the schedule is more forgiving down the stretch.

“It’s all about focusing on us,” Overstreet said. “We’ve faced some really good teams, and I still feel like we have a chance to be a really good team. It’s about having a sense of urgency about us, continuing to fix us so we can do good things in the future.”